After The Final Four Words
by CaliforniaTexasNorthCarolina
Summary: After writing a one-shot occurring before the original show, I decided to write a story about what happened after the Revival. This is my take. There is music. Murder. Cheeky intertextual references and humor. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: I'll Kill Him!

**Chapter 1: I'll Kill Him!**

 _"Mom?"_

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"... I'm pregnant."_

Dead silence. Lorelai Gilmore all at once felt as though she was drowning. She almost didn't want to breathe, for fear it would come out in rough gasps and she would start hyperventilating. She couldn't speak. Finally, she croaked out, "Are you sure?"

Her daughter, Rory, nodded, through the tears now flowing down her cheeks. "I think I'm a month along or so. Maybe a little longer. Five, six weeks?"

Another - ahem - pregnant pause. As diplomatically as she could, Lorelai broached the most logical second question. "Who's the father?"

"Logan... I think," Rory practically whispered.

Lorelai's eyes narrowed almost dangerously. "You _think_ or you _know_?" No answer. "Lorelai Leigh Gilmore..."

"It's his; it's his!" Rory confirmed quickly, desperate to avoid what just might be an explosive rant from her mother; the explosive rant she had feared for days would come, and that she still would rather avoid. "He and I... we... it's his."

The cycle thus began all over again. Upon Rory's answer, Lorelai would wait for a moment to digest the information, before moving on to the next logical inquiry. Thus, the eldest Gilmore asked, "Well... what are we going to do?"

"Don't you mean what _I'm_ going to do? This is all on me, Mom," Rory corrected. The tears were fading; she seemed to be, slowly but surely, finding peace with her fate. "I'll get a job - I'd have to! Stay home nights; write the novel! Wash the diapers - the whole bit!"

All at once, Lorelai flashed back in time roughly 30 years. She saw herself doing all the things Rory had described - except writing a book, of course. There she was, searching for a job in the snow, the winter she and Rory had arrived at Stars Hollow. Another scene, of her changing a screaming Rory's diapers. Long nights in the potting shed behind the Inn, calming her baby down even as she knew she had to get up ridiculously early to begin cleaning the rooms.

And then, the image that made Lorelai just about snap. The face of the woman in these vignettes was not hers. It was suddenly _Rory's_ face she saw.

"Mom? Mom!" But Lorelai barely heard her daughter's calls as she ran in a panic, out of the gazebo and down the road. She didn't stop running until she had reached Maple Street.

* * *

After walking around town for a few hours, thinking to herself, Rory arrived home at number 37 Maple. Well, her parents' home - the one she had grown up in with her mom and was now semi-crashing in. The house was quiet when she entered. Almost none of the lights were on... except for the glow of a bulb emanating from the basement...

Rory went down the stairs, pausing on the landing. By the light of the lamp, she saw her stepfather, Luke Danes, locking down the barrel of a _gun_. As Rory watched, Luke then set the shotgun aside, and retrieved a huge knife from a nearby table. A machete. He swung it back and forth in his grasp, his back to Rory all the while.

"Luke?" She knew he heard her, yet he did not turn around, instead pausing in his almost absent-minded contemplation of dangerous weaponry. "Luke? What are you doing?"

"Getting ready for what any good father has to inevitably do. All I need's your confirmation. Is it true?"

Rory sighed, searching and failing to find some way to placate her stepfather's growing anger. "Luke..."

"Is it _true_?"

"... Yes."

Rory thought that calm, honest, preferably one-word answers would keep Luke from flying into a rage. She should have known better. All the same, she was nevertheless disturbed by how Luke's body seemed to visibly twitch, shake with rage.

"The _bastard_! The filthy bastard! Strutting around across the world after what he did to you! I'll kill him! That's what I'll do! I'll kill him before the day's through!"

Rory laughed almost bitterly. "That'll do a lotta good," she told him sarcastically. Silently, she added: _Good luck with that timetable. Logan's still in London..._

Luke didn't seem to register this clear rebuttal of his proposed solution. "Second opinion: Should I shoot the little shit's dick off? Or castration by hacking it clear with this big-ass knife?" Being only her stepfather, he knew some people might find his behavior... excessive, but Damn it if Luke didn't love Rory as though she was his own daughter. Damn it if he didn't lay claim to Rory as partially his - if not in blood, then in all else. It was he who had fed her and her mother for years at his diner, looked after them - first from afar, and then within their household. He'd attended both of Rory's graduations, for Christ's sake! The passionate emotions boiling inside of him like a rumbling volcano were only quelled by Rory's gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I know what you're feeling... and I'm touched, really..." Whether this comment was genuine, or a joke at the expense of the weapons, was left unextrapolated. "But killing Logan is not the answer. I'm just as much at fault. He's engaged to another woman, for heaven's sake!"

Luke snorted. "Dean, Part II..."

Rory ignored him. "My baby is going to need a father, Luke. And trust me, you and Mom are both going to want Logan alive - maybe not now, but certainly down the road." She spun him around so that he finally faced her. "Promise me. Please. Please don't kill Logan. I'm too young to be a widow, a spinster, or whatever people now call single women out of wedlock!"

Luke sighed heavily. Then, at long last, he set the weapons aside and pulled her into a crushing hug.


	2. Chapter 2: Fanfare for a Festival

**Chapter 2: Fanfare for a Festival**

The strings of lights hung from the gazebo in the center of Stars Hollow. Stands of food and games were spread out along the town square. Across the gazebo, a huge banner reading CONGRATULATIONS, RORY hung tall and proud. A carnival, festival atmosphere hung in the air, like the kind you might find at a Renaissance Fair. Indeed, as Luke and Lorelai led a blindfolded Rory into the party before revealing what had been set up for her, Kirk - dressed as a Troubadour and strumming a mandolin - leapt onto the gazebo's structure, hanging out in mid-air as he surveyed the scene. He began to sing:

" _Come to the festival, lads and lasses!_ "

" _Come and be merry, my dears!_ " Michel called from across the way.

" _Make way for Star Hollows' newest princess - longing for when she appears!_ " Paris happily displayed the glowing, expecting Rory, who was still in shock over what her hometown had put together for her.

By now, Luke and Lorelai had accepted what was to come, and had even grown excited for the new arrival. Such a feeling had quickly permeated throughout the rest of Stars Hollow. It was as if they were their own little kingdom, rejoicing in the news of their very own princess birthing her first child.

The music, the song to which everyone now sang, was upbeat in its rhythm, carrying strains of an ancient Spaniard folk dance. Yet at the same time its words evoked the tenderness of a lilting lullaby. Listening to the tune, Rory was reminded of a movie she had once seen, in which an immortal boy tapped out a beat with a stick in a cave, watching his mortal sweetheart dance with abandon...

" _When she is born, she'll be lovely and fair, like you!_ " Jess praised Rory as he gave her a hug in congratulations.

" _Yeah, can't you just see her at 16 years old?_ " Dean winked at her, before Rory allowed him to reverently kiss her baby bump.

" _She could be pretty with long brownish hair, like you!_ " Ms. Patty visioned.

" _When she comes into the fold!"_ the town chorused, their euphoria moving them to dance _. "People will be singing, the bells will be ringing! That will be the way on the day she is born!... When she is born, why, how happy we'll be! And when she comes, we'll wave flags and beat drums, and we'll wait for the day when she is born!_ "

The dancing spread, until a dance off quickly was set in motion. Laughing, Luke, Lorelai and Rory joined in the celebration. Rory nearly was moved to tears over the love and support she felt from her extended family, the people who had helped her mother raise her.

" _Banners will be flying, the people all crying! Shouting out Hooray on the day she is born! We will all be eager, so eager to meet her! And this is why, when her birth-day draws nigh, we sing songs and lay lanterns, in hopes she'll come by! And she'll join in the dance, and then maybe, perchance, she will see how loved she'll be - when she is born!_ "

* * *

 **A/N: OK, so I totally get how this looks... weird. Especially since the Revival tried that musical theatre schtick and it did. Not. Work. No... just... just No.**

 **But, let me explain: I usually put musical theatre references in my works when appropriate, because I'm a geek like that. This moment is meant to reflect a town's pride in, and celebration of, one of their own. The character of Nina from _In the Heights_ is a prime example of this phenomenon. **

**Regarding the song itself - it is based on (with a few lyric changes) to the song "When She Returns" from _Tangled_. This is a song not in the movie, but in the musical currently being performed on some of the Disney Cruise Lines. Look it up on YouTube, and I guarantee you, it will get stuck in your head. Because Alan Menken is... GAHHH! Genius! _Tangled_ will be on Broadway someday soon! **

**Also, the movie Rory recalls: that is an extremely subtle reference to a scene in 2002's _Tuck Everlasting_ , which starred... Alexis Bledel. Look up the scene in which she, as Winnie Foster, is dancing by a fire as Jesse Tuck taps along with some sticks. Even just in terms of musical rhythm, this moment, and the song from _Tangled_ , are very similar stylistically. You have to watch both to see just what I mean!**


	3. Chapter 3: History Is To Repeat Itself?

**Chapter 3: History Is To Repeat Itself?**

It was a pleasant quiet night at Number 37, Maple Street. Rory was eating dinner with her mother and stepfather. In between courses, the three chattered excitedly about possible baby names.

Suddenly, a fourth voice called out from the darkness outside. "RORY! RORY GILMORE!"

Rory jumped. The voice wasn't any she recognized. Ah, well, perhaps it was another Stars Hollow resident come to wish her congratulations. Well-wishers had stopped her on the street seemingly every day since the party at the gazebo. She turned to her parents. "I'll get it."

She went outside onto the porch, then down to the front lawn. But right away, she wished she hadn't. The young lady before her was someone whom Rory did not know. And she did not look happy.

She looked _enraged_.

"MURDERER!" the young woman screamed. Then, again but lower, almost like a growl: "Murderer..."

Rory debated running inside and calling the police, citing a possibly drunk or disturbed stranger on her lawn, but she did not get the chance. The young woman pulled out a note and shook it almost manically. "He left me only this... only this! All I have left of Logan! And it's all because of you!"

Rory felt her heart plummet into her still-swelling stomach. Oh no... Trying not to shake, she took the note and opened it. As she read, she quickly realized with horror that this was no ordinary note. It was a _suicide_ note. And indeed, in Logan's handwriting; she would know it anywhere! In it, Logan expressed his hopelessness at being trapped in a loveless, arranged marriage to Odette (presumably she was the woman standing before Rory now) by his affluent parents. Even more damning, he declared his love for Rory until the day he died, the bitter end. And most chilling of all: he suggested he would not be surprised to have a child by her.

"It's all there - how he cheated on me with you! Slept with you! How his child is now inside you!" Odette pointed a shaking finger at Rory's belly, her face purple with rage.

Rory took a deep breath. "Odette... I'm sorry. Yes, I had an affair with Logan, and yes, this is his child. But he made that choice. Not me."

"Bullshit!" Odette spat. "You led him right on; seduced him, I expect. YOU STOLE HIM FROM ME!" Odette lunged for Rory, tackling her to the ground. Hands went about her throat. Rory gagged, her eyes wide with fear. _Don't!_ she silently cried as she had no voice with which to do so. _Don't kill Logan's child!_

Fortunately, someone must have heard the commotion from inside the house. A sudden BANG! blasted through the night, silencing Odette's screaming and Rory's struggle for help. "I CAN SHOOT THE FLEAS OFF A FENCE-POST AT FIVE HUNDRED YARDS, YOU LITTLE BITCH - AND IT'S POINTED STRAIGHT AT YOUR HEAD!" Luke's bellow permeated on the same wide trajectory in which he had fired a warning shot from his shotgun, missing the girls intentionally.

Odette froze. Slowly, she got off of Rory, released her hands from the expecting mother's throat, and put her hands up. Luke advanced, his face taut with rage, still taking deadly aim at Odette's heart. Rory got shakily to her feet.

"Rory, get inside!" Luke ordered. But Rory instead jumped between the gun and her deposed rival.

"No!"

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, get inside now!"

"I won't! I won't let you kill her. Please, please, Luke don't kill her! She's grieving! Logan committed suicide; she was his fiancé; there are parts of it that even _I_ don't understand!"

Rory's pleas distracted Luke just for a moment. Which was all that was needed for Odette to lunge towards Rory again. The two girls grappled with each other, staggering to one side and almost out of Luke's way.

Almost.

BANG! Luke reacted instinctively, firing another round. Only this time, it hit Odette. The blonde girl stood for a moment in shock, as if she was not sure what had just happened. Then, she collapsed to the ground. Rory cradled the dying girl in her arms. Luke dropped the gun with a clatter, stunned.

"If you are merciful... lay me beside Logan," Odette asked as her last wish.

Tearfully, Rory nodded. She watched until her rival breathed her last before breaking down in tears. She cried over such violence. But mostly, she cried for Logan, her lost love - whose baby she now carried and that he would never know. Gently, she closed Odette's eyes. After a moment, she felt Luke's hand on her shoulder.

"This is all my fault! I never should have done any of this!"

"Sssh. Logan and this girl's decisions are not your own..." her stepfather soothed.

"But I led them to those decisions! Oh, Luke..." she buried her face in his shirtfront, slowly calming down until she could only sniffle. "Do you remember... that scene in the second Harry Potter movie? Where Dobby says history is to repeat itself?"

"Oh, I don't know much about Harry Potter, but I do know history is not repeating itself. You are not your mom. You won't have to go through what she did. Because you have her to help you. And you have me. I promise."


	4. Chapter 4: When She is Born

**Chapter 4: When She Is Born**

The aftermath of Odette's death was traumatic, but only briefly. Luke was arrested for second-degree murder and placed in jail. Through an assist from Emily Gilmore, Lorelai and Rory managed to bail him out. Soon enough, neighborhood surveillance cameras uncovered video evidence, released to the local media, of how Luke had shot Odette to protect his step-daughter. Citing an extrapolated version of self-defense, as well as Stand Your Ground laws, the judge dropped the charges and case against Luke altogether.

* * *

Several months later, Rory went into labor at Stars Hollow Hospital. As everyone had hoped for, and known since Rory had announced she was expecting, it was a little girl who came into the world. It was the naming of the infant that was more surprising, even controversial. Lorelai Odette Gilmore. Was it proper, exactly, to name a baby partially after her father's jilted fiancé? A fiancé who tried to kill the mother? Nobody had a good answer, but it was none of their business, anyhow.

Rory was resting with the baby after delivery, tired but happy. Luke rested in an armchair, keeping an eye on his family. Rory's father, Christopher Hayden, had arrived just a few hours before; he and his daughter had a tender reunion. Christopher now laid a hand on Luke's shoulder.

"Can we talk? Outside?"

Luke nodded, and the two men stepped into the hall.

"I just wanted to thank you, Luke. For being there for my girls. For Rory... and for Lorelai. When I couldn't. And I'm glad... I'm glad that you finally found in them the family you always wanted."

Luke nodded appreciatively. "So did you. With... Gigi, right? And Sherry."

Christopher chuckled. "Yup. I guess we both ended up where we were meant to be, you and I." A pause, and then: "Don't worry. My father doesn't know about Rory and the baby. I'll break the news to him gently. Though..." and he laughed bitterly. "I'm sure he'll scoff at the irony. I can hear him now: 'Like mother, like daughter; history is cyclical; never should have gotten involved with that family...'"

"Although I know you despise that kind of rhetoric, I don't need to hear the whole litany," Luke cut him off, though not angrily. "You just tell your blowhard of a Daddy that if he so much as laughs at Rory's situation, I'm the least of his problems. Richard will come back from beyond the grave and wring his neck first."

Christopher practically howled with laughter, remembering a particularly sordid reunion back in 2001. Richard had thrown him and his parents out of the Gilmore house. "I believe that!"


	5. Chapter 5: The End

**Chapter 5: The End**

A typical Saturday night at Number 37, Maple Street. Rory Gilmore sat on the couch, reviewing the final manuscript for her novel _The Gilmore Girls_ , all set to be published in the coming summer. She hoped that the book sold well, enough for her to buy a proper house and move out of her mom's, so she and her preschool-aged daughter - whom she had taken to just calling Odette to avoid confusion with the Lorelai name - could start an independent life together.

Little Odette sat next to her mother, watching a movie on TV. _The Swan Princess_ , if Rory remembered correctly what film she had blindly taken out to entertain her youngster. It was about a princess cursed under a spell that made her a swan. A princess who just happened to be named...

 _Yes, Odette! I'm here!_ The Prince was now trying to comfort a dying Princess Odette in his arms. Rory tried not to shudder at the semi-deja vu she now experienced just glancing up at the screen from her work.

 _Derek! I feel so weak..._

 _No! You'll live Odette! Odette?_

"What does she want, Rory? Something wrong?" Luke sauntered into the living room, thinking Rory was tending to his adopted granddaughter about something. Then he looked again, doing a double take at the screen when he saw the Prince weeping over Princess Odette while calling her name over and over.

Luke frowned. "Wait... the blonde in this movie's named Odette too? Copycats! Philistines!" He shook his fist at the TV, as if it was a crime that anyone – fictional or otherwise - shared his granddaughter's nickname.

Rory burst out laughing. "Luke, this came out in, like, 1994. When _I_ was a kid. I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

"Oh," Luke blinked. He shook his head. "I must be losing my marbles. Although, it better be 'just a coincidence'..." he growled darkly as he left the room.

Rory and Odette looked at each other and giggled.

"Grandpa's silly!" Odette laughed.

"Yes. Yes, he is," Rory smiled, shaking her head in amusement.

What a life she now led! A life that - for all intents and purposes - had just about come full circle.

* * *

 **A/N: When I realized Logan's fiancé was named Odette, of all names, I couldn't resist this little tweaking humor! Hilarious, right?**


End file.
